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No Model.) w I A H. VAN HOEVENBERGH.

ART OF TESTING LEAD COVERED GABLES. No. 284,094.

} Patented Auga 28, 1883- I, tubular core or mandrel and the die of thein'a complete lead covering.

declare the following. to be a full, clear, coning apart of thisspecification, in WhlOh llkfl and an electric circuit through the signalcon "of the cable, whereby,"upontl 1'e occurrenceof UNITED STATES PATENTI .OFEIcE.

HENRY-VAN HOEVENBERGH, for ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO RICHARD s.WARING, .01 PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ART OF TESTING LEAD-COVERED CABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known thatl, HENRY VAN HOEVEN- BERGH, 'acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elizabeth, county of Union, State of New Jersey,have invented or discovered a new andus'eful Improvement in the Art ofTesting Lead-Covered Cables; and I do hereby cise, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, maklettersindicating like parts- I E'gure 1 isa diagram" illustrative ofmechanical devices and electric-circuit connections employed in carryingout my invention; and Fig. 2 is an endelevation of the coilingreel,illustrative of the circuit-connections and switch mechanism employedthereon.

My invention relates to the art of testing electrically lead-coveredelectric cables dursists-in certain'combinations of a lead-cable pressand cable, an electrics ignaling device,

neeting the insulated-wires'and lead covering a fault in the insulationduring the application of the lead covering .by'th'e press, the cir- 4cuit' will be completed'andthe signalbeactu ated. 1' 4;, j 5

' In the 111anul'actuiie oflead-covered electric cables it is customaryto make use of a machine known in the art as a lead-press. In doing thisthe desired number of conductingwires, covered or coated with somesuitable insulating material, are carried throu'ghthe press, and thelead-say at about 300 temperature Fahrenheit-i's forced through thedieonto or around thewires, enveloping them In this operation of formingthe cable an importaht element of danger is the high degree oftemperature at which :the lead is worked, by which the insulatingmaterial is melted, and the lead is rendered soft and easily impressed;Itis therefore important and advantageous to provide some means ofdetecting faults or defects in the insulation as soon as they areformed, in

part of Letters Patent No. 34,094, dated August as, 1883. Applicationfiled February 1. 1883. No model.)

order, among other things, to locate them with accuracy and tofacilitate their removal without unnecessary waste.

The purpose of my invention is to provide for doing this by givingsignal to the workmen whenever a fault occurs by means of an electriccircuit completed through'such fault.- In the drawings I haveillustrated the insulated wires a as they enter the press B fromsuitable storing-reels, which are not shown, but may be of any suitableconstruction, and located with reference to the press as conveuience orcircumstances may suggest. The press may also be of any desired form andconstruction. Such devices, as well as their operation in forming thecable, are well known inthe art, and therefore need not be described indetail. As the finished cable A is delivered from the press it is woundon a storingreel,-' E. (Shown in plan, Fig. 1, and in end ele- Vation,Fig. 2 The body (2 and head e of thereel are made of dry wood, or other.suitable non-conductor of electricity, and the supporting-trestl es Darealso made of similar materialswhereby the-cable is insulated from thefrom ground. -In order to make the desired head e, and the several wiresare secured to separate posts 0, which have electric connecliionQwiththe" pivoted switch-arms c, which eircuit-connectionwith the wires 'a ofthe cable, its end is passed through a hole, 3*, in the latter may bemoved onto or off from thebuttons 0, so as to make or breakcircuit-connection therewith. The buttons c are connected by loops 0witheach other, and by wirec with. post a, spring 0", and shaftD; Thepurpose of spring 0 is to secure pressure-contact with the shatt;snchthat if the reel should turn somewhat on the shaft electrical contactwill not be broken. Instead,'however, of the connecting-loops 0,separate wires may extend from each'button to the'post c or, if

preferred, they may extend to and be connected with the shaft bywrapping or otherwise.

Ordinarily itis preferable to make the reel tight'on the shaft; and insuch case provision is madefor continuing the electric circuit from, theshaft by a contact-spring, t', secured ,in'

, 75 metallie shaft D,-and the latter is insulated convenient positiontobear upon the shaft, as at i, with binding-post attachment i, from whichthe ,line-wire H leads, through the helix through its helixthe needlewill be moved a measurable distance, indicating by such movement, tosome extent,whet her the actuatingcurrent be strong or weak, and as aninference therefrom, whether the fault .in the cable is small orgreat.

galvanometer for giving signal of the passage of current over thecircuit, as .any of the known forms of electrical a liances for iv-- ppa ing either oeul'aror audible signal ormani: festation of suchc'urrentmay be employed.

' The circuit described will, when the cable is perfect, benormallyopen, having terminals in the insulated wires'for one pole, andin the press, or more properly in the leadcovering of 1the cable, withinthe -press, for the other po e.- 1 4 When, in the operation of applyingthe lead covering within the press, a fault or defeet occurs in theinsulation of any of the.

wires, circuit will be completed through such fault and electric currentwill pass over the same, actuating the signal and thus notifying theworkmen of the defect as soon as it is formed, thereby fixing itslocation with precision and enabling them to remove it at once withoutlosslof' sound e'able.' If it is desired to locate the fault in aparticular Wireo'r wires, it may be done by opening and closing theswitches c and noting which of the wires gives opened and which givesclosed circuit when its switch is closed, the latter being the defectivewires. I 1

Instead of a battery, K, forexciting or generating electric current, anyknown or suitable .means may be employed for this purpose, and" suchequivalents I consider as coming within my invention. I e

The means herein described for indicatin defects in the cable aresimple, effective, and

adapted to give niuch better "results than can ordinarily be secured byreliance upon tests madeafter the cable is complete and has left thepress, though it may be advisable to make such subsequent tests inaddition to those made during the operation of applying the leadcovering, By my invention the faults,

if any, may be located and removed by ordinary workmen without the skillor experience I do' not wish, how-.. .ever, to limit my invention totheuse of a usually required to locate a fault in a line by methodsordinarily practiced by electricians;

also, by removing the faults j'as they occur f complications are avoidedwhich, may arise from the existence of two or more faults at differentpoints; also,the faulty points inay be reached conveniently before theyare wound on the reel, and may be removed without the labor and expenseof unreeling especially for that purpose' These are important consid-.erations,praetically considered,and render my invention an importantimprovement in the art'of making and testing such cables.

I have referred to lead as the'metal em- I ployed for covering thewires, that being the metal commonly employed for this purpose.

I do not wish, however, to'limit my invention to testing cables havingthis specific metal covering, but include therein cables covered withother or equivalent softdi'ictile, netal'or alloy, as tin, or amixtureof .tin'and lead, adapted tobe applied tothe wires of acable by apress, substantially as herein described,

and such metals or alloys are intended to -be includedwithin the termPlead-covered cables. asused herein. a:

I claimas my invention..

1.- The combination. ,of a lead-cable press and cable, an. electricsignaling device, and an electric circuit through the helix. of thesignaling device, having, terminals in the insulated wires of the cableemerging-from the press and in its lead covering within thepress,substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with a lead-cable press and cable emerging therefrom,an electric-Sig naling device, a battery, and a battery-circuitconnecting the insulated wires and lead covering of the cable throughthe signaling device and through the press, such circuit being normallyopened by the insulating material surrounding the cablerwires,substantially as and for the purposes set forth. v

3. In combination with a lead-cable press and cable emerging therefrom,a galvanometer,

and an electric circuit through, the galvan ometer',having terminals inthe insulated wires of the cable and in its lead covering within thepress, substantially as poses set forth.

a The combination of a -lead-cable press and for the purand a cableemerging therefrom,an electric 1 signaling device, an electric circuitconnecting the insulated wires and lead covering of I the cable throughthe helixof thesignaling device and through the press, anda switch foropening andclosin g circuit conneetion with the separate wires .of thecable, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. HENRY VAN HOEVENBERGH.Witnesses: .7

R. H. WHITTLESEY,

O. L. PARKER.

